Press with corner-guided platen



Sept. 30, 1941. w, ERNST 2,257,294

PRESS WITH CORNER-GUIDED PLATEN Filed Jan. 31, 1938 3 Sheets-Sheet 1' INVENTOR fllff'f Fewer SMELQ y 55m ATTORNEY-9 Sept. 30, 1941. w. ERNST 2,257,294

V PRESS WITH CORNER-GUIDED PLATEN Filed Jan. 31, 1958 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 wl fw 1- SMQW ATTORNEYS Sept. 30, 1941. w. ERNST 2,257,294

PRESS WITH CORNER-GUIDED PLATEN Filed Jan. 31, 1958 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVEN A/zzme 67' ATTORNEYS Patented Sept. 30, 1941 PRESS WITH CORNER-GUIDED PLATEN Walter Ernst. Mount Gilead, Ohio, assignor to The Hydraulic Press Corp. Inc., Wilmington, DeL, a corporation oi Delaware Application January 31, 1938, Serial No. 187,928

15 Claims.

This invention relates to presses, and in particular, to means for guiding the platens of presses.

One object of this invention is to provide means for guiding the platen of a press, wherein the platen is guided at two areas neareach comer, rather than along its sides, thereby enabling the use of longer guides than are possible at the sides of the platen, and accordingly providing more accurate guiding and a greater pressing accuracy, especially in very large presses. I

Another object is to provide a press having a reciprocating platen with guides arranged in pairs at each corner of the platen, so as to en- 'gage the platen on opposite sides of each corner, thereby increasing the guiding area and decreasing the load on a given unit area with correspondingly less friction and wear.

Another object is to provide a press having a bed and head, separated by side members having guides thereon, arranged to engage the corners of the platen on both sides of each corner, thereby providing guides of greater length, without interfering with the daylight opening or clear working space of the press, than is possible with side guides, the latter decreasing the clear working space oi the press.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a front elevation of a press embodying the corner guiding structure of this invention.

Figure 2 is a side elevation of the press shown in Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a horizontal section through one corner of the press, taken along the line 3-3 in Figures 1 and 2.

In general, the press of this invention consists of a bed and a head, interconnected by side members and having a reciprocating platen guided by means arranged between the platen and the side members. According to the present invention (Figure 3), each corner of the platen is provided with guidance at areas on both sides of the corner. This construction enables a greatly increased guiding area to be used with proportionatelyless load upon a given unit area of the guide, hence, resulting in less wear, less friction, less irequentneed for readjustment and easier lubrication. Furthermore, these guides adjacent the corner, on opposite sides thereof, may be made much longer than ordinary side guides without interfering with the daylight opening or clear working space of the presses is the case when side guides are used rather than the corner guides of this invention. This additional length of guides provided by the present invention gives more accurate guidance to the platen, hence, greater accuracy in pressing, a matter which is particularly important in very large presses.

Referring to the drawings in detail, Figures 1 and 2 show a commercial embodiment of a press according to the present invention. This press consists of a bed Ill and a head ll, spaced by side members or uprights, generally designated l2. The bed Ill and head II are preferably interconnected by tie rods or strainrods i3, having nuts Preferably whenthe press is assembled the ends of the strain rods I3 are heated and the nuts i4 tightened while the rod ends are still hot. Accordingly, when the rod ends contract, as a result. of cooling, the side members or uprights l2 are placed under compression andare therefore very rigidly held.

Mounted upon the platform IS on the press head II are electric motors l6, arranged to drive hydraulic pumps il for pumping pressure fluid from a surge tank iii to hydraulic motors l3 within the press head II. The hydraulic motors l9 ordinarily consist of cylinder and piston assemblies, the pistons being connected at their outer ends to a reciprocable platen 20. The platen 20 is provided at each corner with a cutaway portion 2l (Figure 3), into which the side member portion 22 enters. Each side member I2 is composed of two of these side portions 22, interconnected at their tops and bottoms by webs 23. The side portions 22 are provided with longitudinal hollow spaces 24, through which the strain rods I3 pass. Each side portion 22 is also provided with machined or beveled portions 25 and 26 on diametrically opposite corners thereof (Figure '3). These beveled portions 25 and 26 extend upwardly along the side portions 22, and

furnish guidance for the guide members 21 and 28 having correspondinglymachinedor beveled portions 29 adapted to engage the beveled portions 25 and 26 upon the side portions 22.

The guide members 21 and 28 are secured to cutaway portions 30 of the platen 20 by alternately disposed cap screws 3| and adjusting screws 32. The cap screws 3i are threaded into threaded recesses 33 within the platen 20, whereas the adjusting screws 32 are threaded through threaded bores 34 within the guide members 21 and 28. The cap screws 3i, however, pass through unthreaded holes 35 in the guide members 21 and 28. Locknuts 36 are provided for locking the adjusting screws 32 in any desired;

It threaded upon the ends thereof.

apart from each platen comer but adjacent thereto.

4. In a press, end members, side members arranged therebetween, strain rods interconnecting the portions 39, forming the upper part of the a lower webs 23. These surfaces 38 serve to act as a stop to the platen 20 to prevent overstroking of the hydraulic motors I 9.

In the operation of the press of this invention, the platen 20 reciprocates under the action of the hydraulic motors l8, and is guided in its reciprocation at two locations on opposite sides of each corner of the platen, as shown in Figure 3. The guide members 21 engage the beveled portions 25 on one side of the corner of the platen, whereas the guide members 28 engage the beveled portions 26 on the opposite side of the-comer of the platen, both portions 25 and 26 being oppositely disposed on the side portions 22 of the press side members l2. In this manner the platen is provided with guidance at eight different locations, spaced apart from each other, instead of four locations as usually provided in presses. The guide members 21 may, therefore, be of shortened dimensions horizontally, but increased dimensions vertically so that they give additional guidance without interfering with or reducing the so-called daylight opening of the press, thatis, the maximum working space between the inner edges of the side members I 2-. i

It will be understood that I desire to comprehend within my invention such modifications as come within the scope of the claims and the invention.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a press, end members, side members arranged therebetween, strain rods interconnecting said end members, a movable platen, and guiding means mounted on said platen and engaging said side members at each corner of the platen, each side member having a plurality of oppositely disposed flat portions extending therealong, and said guiding means including elements adjustably mounted on said platen and slidably engaging said flat portions.

2. In a press, and members, side members arranged therebetween, strain rods interconnect-' ing said end members, a movable platen, and guiding means mounted on said platen and en-.-

gaging said side members at each corner of the platen; each side member having a plurality of machined guide surfaces arranged on diametrically opposed sides thereof and extending therealong, said guiding means including guide members slidably engaging said guide surfaces.

3. In a press, end members, side members arsaid end members, and passing through said side members a movable platen, guiding means mounted on said platen and engaging said side members at each corner of the platen, each of said side members having machined beveled guide surfaces arranged on opposite sides thereof and extending therealong, said guiding means including guide members slidably engaging said guide surfaces, and means adjustably securing said guide members to said platen so as to allow ranged therebetween, strain rods interconnecting said end members, a movable platen, and guiding means mounted on said platen and engaging said side members at each corner of the platen, each adjustment of said guide members with respect to the guide surfaces of the side members.

5. In a press, end members, side members arranged therebetween, strain rods interconnecting said end members, a movable platen, guiding means mounted on said platen and engaging said side members at each corner of the platen, said side members having machined beveled guide surfaces arranged on opposite sides thereof and extending therealong, said guiding means including adjustable guide members with flat surfaces parallel to and slidably engaging said beveled guide surfaces, and alternately disposed bolts and adjusting screws for adjustably securing and positioning said guide members relatively to said platen.

6. In a press, end members, side members arranged therebetween, strain rods interconnecting said end members, a platen movable relatively to said side members, said platen having four corner portions, and a pair of guide members adjustably connected to each corner portion of said platen each pair of guide members being provided with two beveled surfaces engaging each side member on opposite sides thereof.

7. In a press, end members, side members arranged therebetween, strain rods interconnecting said end members, a movable platen having a recess at each corner thereof to receive said side members, and a pair of guiding members mounted at each recess of said platen and having beveled surfaces for slidably engaging the adjacent side member at spaced locations adjacent the respective recess of the platen but on different sides of said recess.

8. In a press, end members, side members arranged therebetween, strain rods interconnecting said end members and passing through said side members, a movable platen, and a plurality of guiding members mounted in pairs on said platen, said guiding members having beveled surfaces for engagement with said side members and being so arranged that I the beveled surfaces of each pair of guiding members face each other.

9. In a press, end members, side members arranged therebetween, strain rods interconnecting said end members and passing through said side members, a platen movable relatively to said side members, said platen having four comer portions with guiding means detachably mounted on each corner portion of said platen, each of said guiding means slidably engaging the adjacent side members at two spaced fiat surfaces thereof.

10. In a press, end members, side members arranged therebetween, strain rods interconnecting said end members, a platen movable relatively to said side members, said platen having a plurality of corner portions with a pair of guide membersmounted at each corner portion, each pair of guide members engaging an adjacent side memher on two diametrically opposed flat surfaces thereof.

11. In a press, end members, side members arranged therebetween, strain rods interconnecting said end members, a platen movable relatively to said side members, said platen having four corner portions and a pair of guide members adjustably mounted at each corner portion of said platen and detachably connected thereto, each guide member having a beveled surface and each pair or guide members engaging the adjacent side member on two diametrically opposed flat sides thereof.

12. In a press, end members, side members arranged therebetween, strain rods interconnecting said end members, a movable platen having a recess at each corner thereof to receive said side members, mounted on said platen at two diametrically opposed corner portions of each of said recesses and having beveled surfaces respectively engaging correspondingly shaped flat surfaces on said side members, said Binding members and guiding members adjustably being adapted to guide and simultaneously'to maintain said platen in proper position with respect to said side members.

, 13. In a press, end members, stationary side members, strain rods passing through said side members and interconnecting said end members, a movable platen, a plurality of guiding members adiustably mounted on said platen and arranged in pairs so that each of said side members has cperatively associated therewith, one pairof guldingmembers, each of said side members being provided with diametrically opposed flat surfaces adapted to be slidably engaged by correspondingly shaped flat surfaces of said guiding members to guide said platen and maintain the same in proper position with respect to said side members.v

14. In a press, end members, hollow side members arranged therebetween and having two diametrically opposed flat sides, strain rods interconnecting said end member and passing through said side members, a movable platen having a recess at each corner portion to receive said side members, and guiding means provided with flat surfaces and mounted on said platen so as slidably to engage with said flat surfaces each side member on said two diametrically opposed flat sides thereof.

15. In a press, end members, side members arranged therebetweemstrain rods interconnecting said end members, a platen movable relatively to said side members, said platen having four corner portions, and a pair of guide members connected to each 'corner portion of said platen, each pair of guide members being provided with beveled surfaces engaging two correspondingly shaped flat surfaces on two diametrically opposed corner portions of said side members.

' WAL'I'ER ERNST. 

